WOW, 6 pages and deleted post! I always miss the good ones...

There is no doubt that kits have gone by the way side and it all comes down to the dollar, plain and simple...
If a company is not making money, they have to make changes or they will be no more.. This isn't a question on what is better (Arf's or kits), it's what will make a company money...
I am 41 years old and built my first kit when I was 11, back then that's how you did it if you wanted to fly, you built it or paid someone to do it for you.
I myself like arf's, it gives me the option of paying someone to do it for me if I don't have the time. I just wish that I could keep my money I spend in the USA, but that goes way farther then the plane. I would have to guess that 90% of the stuff we buy for this hobby is made out of the country, if not more...

I doubt that we will ever see kits come back like it was 25+ years ago. The reason is simple, it's the generation! The new generation knows the hobby like it is now and guess what, they like it just the way it is... As the older generation slips away, the new one gets stronger and stronger, it's just the way life is..
How many can remember their dad saying " back when I was your age", or "when I was a kid". I bet everyone reading this can relate to that..
The hobby did change just like everything else does, you can either embrace it and move forward, or not, it's your choice as a person...
If a plane you are after isn't made as a kit no more, make one from scratch.. For me, I will build kits I like and build from scratch if there isn't a kit. But you can bet that when I show up at the field on a Sunday, there will be a arf we me as well..

Jimbo